Senior Commercial and Contract Manager (RDMD)

Geoscience Australia; Canberra; Hybrid; AUD 120,000 - 190,000; Full time

Job summary

Geoscience Australia seeks a highly experienced Senior Contract Manager to lead commercial, contract management and vendor governance for the Repository Data Management and Delivery (RDMD) and other major contracts. This EL2 role combines enterprise leadership with day-to-day contract accountability, focusing on value-for-money, timely milestones and risk management.

You will collaborate with the RDMD Project Manager, Repository Director and cross-functional teams to ensure governance and

Qualifications

• Experience leading highly complex, high-value or high-risk ICT/digital/geophysical data contracts.
• Knowledge of Australian Government procurement, probity, governance and records management.
• Experience establishing contract management frameworks, governance forums and performance reporting.
• Advanced stakeholder engagement, negotiation and briefing skills for senior leaders.
• Ability to translate complex commercial matters into clear advice and decisions.
• Experience in managing enterprise-level contract governance and supplier performance.

Responsibilities

• Directly manage multi-year, multi-million-dollar RDMD contracts and other major contracts, ensuring milestones and value-for-money outcomes.
• Establish and run enterprise-level contract governance arrangements and audit-ready records.
• Review deliverables, service reports, invoices, and performance evidence to ensure requirements are met.
• Own and manage financial, commercial, operational and delivery risks associated with major contracts.
• Brief and influence senior stakeholders on contract performance, enterprise impacts and risk exposure.
• Lead improvements in contract management maturity and strengthen governance, vendor performance and risk management.

Skills

Contract management

Governance

Vendor management

Risk management

Stakeholder engagement

Negotiation

Executive briefing

Public sector procurement

Strategic leadership

Compliance

Education

Degree in law, business, commerce or procurement

Job description

Senior Commercial and Contract Manager (RDMD)

Geoscience Australia values the lands, water and sky as we work to deepen a shared understanding of Country and Earth. We respect First Nations peoples and their enduring connection, contribution and obligations to Country. Reflecting on our shared history, we are committed to listen and learn.

About us

Geoscience Australia is Australia's pre‑eminent public sector geoscience organisation. We are the nation's trusted advisor on the geology and geography of Australia. We apply science and technology to describe and understand the Earth for the benefit of Australia. We apply our diverse professional expertise, our deep and trusted knowledge, our nation‑scale Earth observation infrastructure and our strong partnerships, to the opportunities and challenges that face our nation.

Our culture

Our strength lies in our people, including our diversity in backgrounds, skills and experiences, and the way we work together to respond to the emerging needs of our work. We value diversity in gender, backgrounds, culture, and experiences of our employees and are committed to providing an inclusive workplace culture that ensures everyone has equal opportunity to contribute, participate and progress. Applications from people who reflect this diversity are encouraged.

Our workplace is committed to the health, safety and wellbeing of our employees and offers a variety of flexible working arrangements to enhance flexibility, including remote working arrangements.

What we can offer you

When you work at Geoscience Australia you will have access to a range of benefits and the opportunity to experience a workplace culture that truly values and promotes diversity, inclusion, equity and belonging. To learn more about our competitive salary, free onsite parking, generous flexible working arrangements and the role you can play in growing our culture click here.

Our team

The Minerals, Energy and Groundwater Division delivers precompetitive geoscience data, analysis and tools to government, industry and communities, informing exploration and sustainable resource development decisions. This includes the management of large collections of nationally significant geoscience data and physical samples within Geoscience Australia’s Repository. Working in the Repository team within the Minerals, Energy and Groundwater Division is an opportunity to help the government support a thriving and resilient national economy.

The Repository is focused on maximising outcomes for our stakeholders through effective and efficient data management and delivery solutions. We are a team of data and collections managers and are passionate about the services we provide. We are embarking on a journey to improve our current data storage and delivery systems with an innovative new data management solution.

The role

The Repository is seeking a highly experienced Senior Contract Manager to provide strategic leadership and organisational accountability for commercial, contract management and vendor governance outcomes associated with the Repository Data Management and Delivery (RDMD) enterprise data storage capability and other major contracts, while exercising direct oversight of complex contractual arrangements. This EL2 role combines enterprise-level leadership with direct operational accountability for highly complex and high-risk contractual arrangements. The role is accountable for ensuring value for money, timely delivery of contractual milestones, effective vendor and performance management, compliance with Commonwealth and internal governance requirements, and high-quality services that meet business and enterprise needs.

You will work closely with the RDMD Project Manager and Repository Director, and partner with the enterprise ICT, legal, procurement, security, and finance sections, branch heads and the Chief of Division to ensure RDMD and other assigned contract outcomes align with whole of government compliance obligations, especially on data, ICT, security, governance and strategic delivery expectations. The role will provide senior leadership while taking practical responsibility for the day-to-day contract disciplines, assurance, reporting, escalation and issue resolution needed to deliver the enterprise solution successfully and strengthen sustainable contract governance for future major contracts.

Geoscience Australia values the lands, water and sky as we work to deepen a shared understanding of Country and Earth. We respect First Nations peoples and their enduring connection, contribution and obligations to Country. Reflecting on our shared history, we are committed to listen and learn.

About us

Geoscience Australia is Australia's pre‑eminent public sector geoscience organisation. We are the nation's trusted advisor on the geology and geography of Australia. We apply science and technology to describe and understand the Earth for the benefit of Australia. We apply our diverse professional expertise, our deep and trusted knowledge, our nation‑scale Earth observation infrastructure and our strong partnerships, to the opportunities and challenges that face our nation.

Our culture

Our strength lies in our people, including our diversity in backgrounds, skills and experiences, and the way we work together to respond to the emerging needs of our work. We value diversity in gender, backgrounds, culture, and experiences of our employees and are committed to providing an inclusive workplace culture that ensures everyone has equal opportunity to contribute, participate and progress. Applications from people who reflect this diversity are encouraged.

Our workplace is committed to the health, safety and wellbeing of our employees and offers a variety of flexible working arrangements to enhance flexibility, including remote working arrangements.

What we can offer you

When you work at Geoscience Australia you will have access to a range of benefits and the opportunity to experience a workplace culture that truly values and promotes diversity, inclusion, equity and belonging. To learn more about our competitive salary, free onsite parking, generous flexible working arrangements and the role you can play in growing our culture click here.

Our team

The Minerals, Energy and Groundwater Division delivers precompetitive geoscience data, analysis and tools to government, industry and communities, informing exploration and sustainable resource development decisions. This includes the management of large collections of nationally significant geoscience data and physical samples within Geoscience Australia’s Repository. Working in the Repository team within the Minerals, Energy and Groundwater Division is an opportunity to help the government support a thriving and resilient national economy.

The Repository is focused on maximising outcomes for our stakeholders through effective and efficient data management and delivery solutions. We are a team of data and collections managers and are passionate about the services we provide. We are embarking on a journey to improve our current data storage and delivery systems with an innovative new data management solution.

The role

The Repository is seeking a highly experienced Senior Contract Manager to provide strategic leadership and organisational accountability for commercial, contract management and vendor governance outcomes associated with the Repository Data Management and Delivery (RDMD) enterprise data storage capability and other major contracts, while exercising direct oversight of complex contractual arrangements. This EL2 role combines enterprise-level leadership with direct operational accountability for highly complex and high-risk contractual arrangements. The role is accountable for ensuring value for money, timely delivery of contractual milestones, effective vendor and performance management, compliance with Commonwealth and internal governance requirements, and high-quality services that meet business and enterprise needs.

You will work closely with the RDMD Project Manager and Repository Director, and partner with the enterprise ICT, legal, procurement, security, and finance sections, branch heads and the Chief of Division to ensure RDMD and other assigned contract outcomes align with whole of government compliance obligations, especially on data, ICT, security, governance and strategic delivery expectations. The role will provide senior leadership while taking practical responsibility for the day-to-day contract disciplines, assurance, reporting, escalation and issue resolution needed to deliver the enterprise solution successfully and strengthen sustainable contract governance for future major contracts.

The key duties of the position include:

In this role you will:

• Directly manage the multi-year, multi-million-dollar RDMD enterprise data storage contract and other major contracts as directed, ensuring contractual obligations, milestones, deliverables, service levels, acceptance requirements, vendor performance including potential dispute discussion or negotiations with the supplier and value-for-money outcomes are achieved.
• Establish, maintain and actively run enterprise-level contract governance arrangements, including contract management plans with supplier non-compliance records, assurance mechanisms, reporting cadence, decision pathways, governance forums, escalation processes, operational meetings and audit-ready records.
• Review and manage contract deliverables, service reports, invoices, acceptance certificates, variations and performance evidence to confirm requirements are met, issues are resolved and services continue to deliver value for money.
• Own and actively manage significant financial, commercial, operational and delivery risks associated with complex contracts, ensuring risks, issues, dependencies, variations, negotiations and disputes are identified early, managed through practical controls, escalated appropriately and resolved effectively.
• Brief and influence senior stakeholders, including branch heads and the Chief of Division, on contract performance, enterprise impacts, risk exposure, delivery progress, investment decisions, options and recommended courses of action.
• Lift contract management capability across the Minerals, Energy and Groundwater Division by applying practical tools, disciplines and transferable approaches through the day-to-day management of RDMD and other major contracts, strengthening contract governance, vendor performance, risk management, assurance and continuous improvement.

To be successful in the role you will:

• Exercise strategic judgement and commercial acumen while remaining close to operational detail, interpreting complex contract settings, assessing enterprise impacts and making practical decisions that support delivery.
• Operate with a high degree of autonomy and personal accountability, balancing enterprise outcomes, divisional priorities, delivery pressures, commercial and compliance obligations and hands-on contract management in a high-risk environment.
• Influence effectively at executive and senior leadership levels, translating technical, commercial, financial, delivery and governance matters into clear advice, briefings and decisions.
• Build trusted relationships across business, technical, corporate and vendor stakeholders, creating shared accountability for delivery, risk management, escalation and enterprise value.
• Lead improvements in contract management maturity by modelling strong contract discipline, coaching others and embedding sustainable practices through practical delivery of major contracts that strengthen divisional and organisational capability.

Required skills, knowledge, experience and/or qualifications

• Degree in law, business, commerce or diploma or similar in procurement, contract or project management is desirable but not essential.
• 5 years + extensive experience leading the management of highly complex, high-value or high-risk ICT, digital, data, geophysical data collection, infrastructure, managed service or other technical service contracts, ideally within the Australian Government or another regulated environment.
• Advanced understanding of contract management, commercial management, vendor management, risk ownership, assurance and value-for-money principles in complex delivery environments.
• Demonstrated knowledge of Australian Government procurement, probity, governance, records management, financial accountability and public sector decision-making requirements.
• Experience establishing and operating contract management frameworks, governance forums, performance reporting, service level monitoring, risk controls, escalation pathways and assurance mechanisms for major contracts.
• Highly developed executive-level stakeholder engagement, negotiation, written communication and briefing skills, including experience advising senior leaders on complex commercial, delivery and risk matters.

Are you unsure about applying?

Did you know that a Hewlett Packard internal report found that men apply for jobs when they meet an average of 60 per cent of the job requirements? Women and other people from diverse backgrounds tend to only apply when they check every box. If you think you have what it takes, but don’t necessarily meet every single point on what we are looking for, please still apply or get in touch with the contact officer to learn more about the role.

Eligibility

To be eligible to apply for this position you must meet the below eligibility criteria.

• Be an Australian Citizen at the closing date of application.
• The successful applicant must be able to obtain, hold and maintain a security clearance of an appropriate level relevant to this role.
• Commencement of employment is subject to the successful applicant undergoing and satisfying pre-employment screening, which includes a police history check.

Notes

Technical Assistance

If you require technical assistance, call our Recruitment team on (02) 6249 9*** or email ***********@ga.gov.au.

A merit list/pool may be created from this process. If you are successful for the merit pool, your details may be shared with other Australian Public Service agencies unless you choose not to have your details disclosed.

Getting to know the Geoscience Australia

Geoscience Australia is an Australian Government listed entity within the Industry, Innovation and Science portfolio.Geoscience Australia is Australia's pre-eminent public sector geoscience organisation. We are the nation's trusted advisor on the geology and geography of Australia. We apply science and technology to describe and understand the Earth for the benefit of Australia. We apply our diverse professional expertise, our deep and trusted knowledge, our nation-scale Earth observation infrastructure and our strong partnerships, to the opportunities and challenges that face our nation.We value diversity in gender, backgrounds, culture, and experiences of our employees and are committed to providing an inclusive workplace culture that ensures everyone has equal opportunity to contribute, participate and progress. Applications from people who reflect this diversity are encouraged.We are committed to the health, safety and wellbeing of our employees and offer a flexible and diverse workplace.

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